Cowboy Coffee Recipe

You'll have everyone feelin' right at home on the range if you finish off the evening with cowboy coffee and lip-smacking Good, Bad, and the Fudgy Brownies. Just make sure they wipe any stray cow patties off their boots before they kick them up on the coffee table.

[Editor's note: Adding the eggshell to the coffee is an old cowboy trick that helps reduce the acidity and clarify the brew (and is thought to weigh down the grinds).]

Ingredients

1 quart filtered water

1 cup freshly ground coffee (coarse grind; same as French press)

1 whole egg shell

½ cup cold water

Milk, for serving

Sugar and other sweeteners, for serving

Directions

Bring water to a boil over the campfire in a large saucepan or coffee pot. Add the coffee grounds and eggshell to boiling water. Return to a boil, remove from heat, and slowly pour in the cold-water, letting the coffee grounds and eggshell settle to the bottom, about 5-10 minutes. Using a ladle, spoon the cowboy coffee into rustic mugs. (I like using the blue-speckled tin camping cups.) Add milk and sweetener of choice to taste. And use any remaining coffee to extinguish the campfire.

Cowboy Coffee Shopping Tip

There are so many varieties of chocolate on the shelves today it can be overwhelming to pick one – as a general rule of thumb, the fewer the ingredients, the better the chocolate.

Cowboy Coffee Cooking Tip

When melting chocolate, use a double boiler and stir occasionally to avoid scorching chocolate at the bottom of the bowl.